Huskers to Square Off with Illinois, Northwestern

Illinois at Nebraska
Thursday, Oct. 13 • 7:05 p.m. (CT)
Lincoln, Neb. • Hibner Stadium
Live Video Stream: BTN Plus
Live Stats: Huskers.com

#22 Northwestern at Nebraska
Sunday, Oct. 16 • 1:05 p.m. (CT)
Lincoln, Neb. • Hibner Stadium
Live Video Stream: BTN Plus
Live Stats: Huskers.com

The Nebraska soccer team (9-5-1, 3-3-1 Big Ten) hosts Illinois and No. 22 Northwestern this week at Barbara Hibner Stadium, as the Huskers look to climb up the Big Ten standings.

NU faces the Fighting Illini on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. (CT) before hosting the Wildcats on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Live stats will be available on Huskers.com.

Last Time Out: During last weekend’s road trip, the Huskers tied Wisconsin (1-1) on Thursday, Oct. 6 before falling to 17th-ranked Minnesota (3-0) on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Up Next: The Huskers travel to Rutgers to face the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.

Scouting the Illinois Fighting Illini

• Record: 5-9-1 (2-4-1 Big Ten)

            • Wins (5): Morehead State (2-0), Illinois State (1-0), Evansville (1-0), #19 Michigan (3-0), Michigan State (3-1)

            • Losses (9): Missouri (2-3), Saint Louis (0-1), TCU (1-2), #14 Texas A&M (0-2), Miami (0-1), Purdue (0-2), Indiana (0-1), Maryland (1-3), #14 Penn State (0-2)

            • Ties (1): #22 Rutgers (0-0)

• Impact Players

            • Patricia George: Three goals and two assists through 15 games

            • Allison Stuckey: Two goals and one assist through 15 games

            • Reagan Robishaw: Two goals through 15 games

• Coached by Janet Rayfield (15th season at Illinois; 20th season overall)

            • Record at Illinois: 176-112-31

            • Career Record: 221-175-38

• Assistant Coaches: Jeff Freeman, Nick Stirrett

Scouting the Northwestern Wildcats

• Record: 12-1-1 (5-1-1 Big Ten)

            • Wins (12): Virginia Commonwealth (1-0), James Madison (3-0), DePaul (2-1), Indiana State (2-0), Colorado State (3-0), Illinois State (1-0), Marquette (1-0), Indiana (1-0), Purdue (2-0), Maryland (4-1), Michigan State (1-0), Michigan (2-1)

            • Losses (1): Rutgers (0-2)

            • Ties (1): Ohio State (0-0)

• Faces Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 13 before its matchup with Nebraska

• Ranked 22nd in the NSCAA poll, released on Oct. 11

• Impact Players

            • Brenna Lovera: Six goals in 10 appearances

            • Kassidy Gorman: Four goals through 14 games

            • Maddy Lucas: Two goals and three assists through 14 games

            • Lauren Clem: 52 saves and five goals allowed through 14 games

• Coached by Michael Moynihan (Fifth season at Northwestern; 20th season overall)

            • Record at Northwestern: 45-39-11

            • Career Record: 238-123-49

• Assistant Coaches: David Nikolic, Shannon Neely

About the Huskers

Quick Notes

• Nebraska earned the No. 20 spot in this week’s RPI Rankings, released on Oct. 10.

• Nebraska enters the week with nine wins this season, which surpasses the win totals from each of the last two seasons. NU went 8-7-2 in 2015 after posting an 8-9-2 mark in 2014.

• Jaycie Johnson leads the team in goals scored (9) and points (20). She is tied for the second-most goals by a Big Ten player this season, behind Minnesota’s Simone Kolander, who has 11.

• Sydney Miramontez leads the team in assists (7) and has the second-most assists of any Big Ten player this season behind Rutgers’ Nicole Whitley, who has nine.

• Johnson has scored nine goals in the last 10 games after not scoring in her first five games this season.

• Haley Hanson has scored eight goals in her last 17 games, dating back to last season, after scoring once in her first 32 career games.

• The Miramontez sisters, Sydney and Sinclaire, have each started all 15 games, and have played nearly every minute of every game this season.

• Johnson was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 after a four-goal performance at Ohio State and Penn State. She earned her second career hat trick in NU’s win over the Buckeyes on Sept. 23.

• Brenna Ochoa was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 6 after scoring the game-winning goal against Kansas in double overtime on Sept. 2.

• Nebraska captured its 300th win in program history on Aug. 22, which marked the same milestone for Head Coach John Walker.

 

Individual Milestones and Records to Watch

• Jaycie Johnson has 40 career goals, which is the eighth-most in program history. Johnson is one goal shy of a tie for seventh with Brittany Timko.

• Johnson has 15 career game-winning goals, which is tied for second in program history with Kari Uppinghouse and Lindsay Eddleman. Johnson is eight game-winning goals shy of tying for first.

• Johnson has nine career multiple-goal games, which is tied for seventh in program history. She is one multiple-goal game away from a tie for fifth.

Senior Quartet Showing the Way

• Seniors Jaycie Johnson, Caroline Flynn, Sydney Miramontez and Courtney Claassen have each started nearly every game this season.

• They have accounted for 11 of Nebraska’s 22 goals this season, and 11 of NU’s 17 assists.

• Each of them scored at least one point at Ohio State on Sept. 23. Johnson had three goals, while Flynn, Miramontez and Claassen each had one assist.

• Johnson, who is back from a season-ending ACL tear last year, has nine goals and two assists this season.

• Miramontez has one goal and seven assists this season.

• Flynn has one goal and one assist this season.

• Claassen has one assist this season.

• Flynn, Johnson and Miramontez each earned a spot on the Big Ten Preseason Honors List, released on Aug. 15.

 

Newcomers Making an Impact

• Two true freshmen have started each of the first 15 games: Aubrei Corder and Sinclaire Miramontez, while Meg Brandt has started 14 of 15 games.

• Corder has 54 saves and 18 goals allowed through 15 games (1,399 minutes).

• Brandt has two goals and two assists this season.

• True freshman Brenna Ochoa has also appeared in all 15 games, and has two game-winning goals, both of which she scored in double overtime.

• Newcomers Alexis Rienks (junior transfer from New Mexico State), Elyse Huber (true freshman from Sioux City, Iowa) and Hannah McKinney (true freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) have also made multiple appearances.

Huskers Getting TV Exposure

• The Huskers have appeared on TV for five matches (BYUtv, Pac-12 TV, Big Ten Network) and were on WatchESPN for their Sept. 11 match at Clemson.

• Nebraska will make nine BTN Plus (online streaming) appearances this season (six at home, three on the road).

Schedule at a Glance

• 19 regular-season games (10 home games in the second season at Hibner Stadium)

• Six of NU’s opponents are ranked in the latest NSCAA poll, released on Oct. 11: BYU (8), Minnesota (15), Penn State (16), Clemson (18), Northwestern (22) and Michigan (25)

• Seven opponents qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season: BYU, Clemson, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers

• Two of those teams advanced to the College Cup: Rutgers and eventual NCAA champion Penn State

• Opponents from the Pac-12, Big 12, ACC, Big East, WCC and Atlantic 10